JPH098714A - Responder and information managing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a responder, with which information concerning contents stored in a recording medium is outputted to fixed equipment, and an information managing system for executing the information management of the recording medium. CONSTITUTION: An index label 111, in which a responder 110 is embedded, is stuck on the cassette half upper surface of a cassette tape 102. The responder 110 incorporates an EEPROM enabling the reload of stored contents for storing the information concerning the contents of a magnetic tape. The information stored in that EEPROM is read from the responder 110 by fixed equipment 120 or the information is written in the EEPROM. Therefore, the fixed equipment 120 is arranged at a position corresponding to the responder 110 stuck on the loaded cassette tape 102 inside an inserting port 103 for loading the tape 102 to a cassette deck 100.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a transponder and an information management system for managing contents (recording information) recorded on a recording medium such as a video cassette tape.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, management of recorded information in a recording medium having no index function regarding recorded contents has been performed by attaching a label sheet or a tag to the recording medium.
For example, with a video cassette tape, information about recorded video such as date and program name is written on a predetermined index label, and that label is affixed to the cassette case, and when the recorded content is changed at a later date, the content of the label is rewritten. , In order to add more, the label itself was replaced.

Recently, recording information has been managed by storing an index signal inside a recording medium such as a video disk and using the index signal to locate the index. Further, it is also considered that the recording date and time is stored in the memory area of the reproducing apparatus main body and the content is displayed on the screen during reproduction and managed.

[0004]

According to such a method, it is possible to quickly and easily pull out the management information of the recording medium to manage the recording information such as a tape, but the recording medium itself stores the information. There is a problem in that it is difficult to record the management information in terms of form.

Further, in the case where the management information is stored in the memory of the reproduction apparatus main body, due to its structure, the management information is reproduced and displayed only when reproduced by the same apparatus used for recording on the storage medium. Then, when reproduced on a different device, it is impossible to use the management information. If the management information is stored in the recording medium itself together with the recording information, the management information can be reproduced by different reproducing devices of the same model, but the compatibility between reproducing devices of different models becomes When using, the management information cannot be reproduced or used.

Furthermore, in a conventional recording medium, for example, a recorded video tape, there is a risk of accidental overwriting when a plurality of programs are stored in one recording medium. However, the only way to avoid this was to actually play it back and confirm.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and a first object thereof is to be able to output information (management information) relating to the contents recorded on a recording medium to a fixed machine. It is to provide a transponder.

A second object of the present invention is to erroneously overwrite data by executing information management of a recording medium by a transponder that outputs information relating to the contents recorded on the recording medium to a fixed machine. It is to provide an information management system that can surely avoid the risk of being overwhelmed.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a transponder which outputs information relating to contents recorded on a recording medium to a fixed device, and which stores the information in a rewritable manner. And writing means for writing information from the fixed machine to the storage means, and output means for outputting predetermined information from the storage means in response to an inquiry signal from the fixed machine. .

The transponder according to a second aspect of the present invention is characterized by further comprising means for attaching the transponder to the recording medium.

An information management system according to a third aspect is characterized in that the transponder is embedded in the recording medium.

An information management system according to a fourth aspect of the present invention has a display means connected to the fixed machine and displaying information output from the responder.

An information management system according to a fifth aspect of the present invention has an information processing means that is connected to the fixed machine and processes information output from the responder.

[0014]

In the responder according to the first aspect, predetermined information can be taken out from the storage means and the recorded information can be managed in response to, for example, a tape information call command.

In the transponder according to the second aspect of the present invention, by attaching it to the storage medium, such as an index label attached to the cassette half of the video tape, the information regarding the recorded contents can be surely recorded and freely updated. it can.

In the information management system according to the third aspect, since the transponder is embedded in the recording medium, the information regarding the contents recorded in the recording medium can be reliably managed and updated freely.

In the information management system according to the fourth aspect, the management information read by the fixed machine is displayed to interactively execute the update of the recorded content and the like, thereby reliably preventing erroneous repeated recording. it can.

In the information management system according to the fifth aspect, it is possible to provide a cueing function using the information output from the transponder and a repeated recording prevention function, so that information management of the recording medium can be surely executed.

[0019]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Embodiment 1 In the first embodiment, an information management system of the present invention applied to a video cassette recorder (VCR) will be described. Figure 1 shows a cassette deck 1
It is a perspective view which shows the front panel side of 00. Reference numeral 102 denotes a cassette tape, which protects a magnetic tape as a magnetic recording medium, and has an index label 111 in which a transponder 110 is embedded, for example, attached to the upper surface of the cassette half for insertion into the cassette deck 100. The transponder 110 has a built-in EEPROM capable of electrically erasing and writing the stored contents in order to store information about the contents of the magnetic tape.

Reference numeral 120 denotes a stationary machine, and this stationary machine 120
Reads the information stored in the EEPROM in the transponder 110 or writes the information in the EEPROM. For this reason, the fixing machine 120 is arranged in the insertion opening 103 for loading the tape 102 on the cassette deck 100 and at the upper surface position corresponding to the transponder 110 attached to the loaded cassette tape 102. .

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the circuit configuration of the stationary machine 120. The stationary machine 120 serves both as an interrogator for reading information and a means for writing information, and includes a first antenna coil 1, a transmission / power supply unit 2, a reception unit 3, and a coupling circuit. It is composed of 4.

The transmission and power supply unit 2 has an oscillator circuit (OSC) 5 for generating a high frequency signal and a code setting unit 6 for setting a specific code signal having an address section and a data section.
A modulation circuit 7 for modulating the code signal and an amplification circuit 8 for amplifying a high frequency signal on which the code signal is superimposed. The code setting unit 6 is further connected to the data processing circuit of the cassette deck 100 as necessary, and management information (tape information) of a predetermined tape is input.

The receiver 3 includes an amplifier circuit 9, a demodulator circuit 10,
A serial-parallel conversion circuit (SPC) 11 and a matching circuit 12 are provided. A code signal is input from the code setting unit 6 to the matching circuit 12, and the code signal and the responder 11 are input.
The collation circuit 12 is configured to compare the code signal transmitted from 0 and to match the code signal. The collation circuit 12 is connected to the display means of the cassette deck 100 or the like as necessary, and predetermined tape information is output.

These transmission and power supply section 2 and reception section 3
Is connected to the first antenna coil by a coupling circuit 4,
Information relating to the contents recorded on the magnetic tape is exchanged with the transponder 110 described below.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the circuit configuration of the responder 110. The transponder 110 is a fixed machine 120.
A second antenna coil 13 coupled to the first antenna coil 1 by electromagnetic induction.
Power supply section 14 for supplying the power transmitted through the circuit to each circuit in the responder 110, and the code signal setting receiving section 15
And the code signal transmission unit 16 are connected to the second antenna coil 13 via the switching circuit 17.

Reference numeral 18 is a switch circuit for supplying power from the power supply unit 14 to the transmission unit 16, and 19 is a switching circuit 1.
A timing control circuit for controlling the switching operation of each of the switch 7 and the switch circuit 18, and an EEPROM 20 for rewritably holding information regarding the contents recorded on the magnetic tape 102.

The power supply unit 14 includes the second antenna coil 1
A rectifier circuit 21 for rectifying the AC output from the capacitor 3 and a capacitor 22 for storing the power converted into DC. Further, the code signal setting receiving unit 15 includes the stationary machine 12
An amplifier circuit 23 for amplifying the signal from 0 and a demodulation circuit 24 for demodulating the signal are provided. Further, the code signal transmission unit 16 includes a modulation circuit 25 and an amplification circuit 26.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the flow of tape information inside the cassette deck 100 by the stationary machine 120. Fixed machine 120 arranged on cassette deck 100
As described above, the responding device 110 reads the tape information stored therein between the answering device 110 and the responding device 110 in response to the inquiry radio wave from the stationary device 120.
First, a case where the cassette tape 102 having the responder 110 is inserted into the cassette deck 100 to start recording will be described.

When the recording operation is started, the recording start time is measured by the time measuring means 104, the tape remaining quantity is measured by the tape remaining amount measuring means 105, and the operation status management means 1 of the cassette deck 100 is started.
From 06, recording-related information such as recording mode and channel information is read into the fixed device 120. These pieces of information are stored in the responder 110 of the cassette tape 102.
Immediately written to EPROM 20.

In the writing operation, the contents to be written are first set in the code setting unit 6, the carrier wave generated by the oscillation circuit 5 is modulated in the modulator circuit 7 by the contents to be written, and the stationary machine 120 is operated.
Is amplified by the transmission amplifying circuit 8 of. This signal is
Electromagnetic waves are transmitted from the first antenna coil 1 via the coupling circuit 4. On the responder 110 side, this electromagnetic wave is received by the second antenna coil 13, and the power is obtained by the rectifier circuit 21 and the capacitor 22 via the switching circuit 17. At the same time, the timing control circuit 19 operates, and the reception amplification circuit 23 and the demodulation circuit 24 of the transponder 110 are operated.
Operates and demodulates the input signal, and the EEPROM2
Write to 0. Finally, in order to confirm the writing operation, a code signal indicating completion of writing to the EEPROM 20 is sent from the code signal transmitting unit 16 of the responder 110 to the stationary device 1.
20. In the stationary machine 120, the collation circuit 12 of the receiver 3 confirms the completion of writing the code signal. In this case, tape information is repeatedly transmitted from the fixed machine 120 to the responder 110 until the completion of writing is confirmed. At the end of recording, similarly, tape information such as recording end time and tape remaining amount data is written in the EEPROM 20.

Next, the read operation for reading the tape information from the responder 110 will be described.

For example, when a read request is generated by operating a tape information call button or the like of the cassette deck 100, the stationary machine 120 outputs a predetermined code signal as a read request to the responder 110, and the EEPROM 20 is read.
The corresponding tape information is read from. This reading procedure is the same as the reading of the code signal when confirming the writing operation, and necessary tape information is transmitted from the code signal transmitting unit 16 to the stationary device 120. The tape information read by the stationary machine 120 is displayed on the predetermined tape information display means 107 in a format as shown in FIG. 5, for example. If the cassette deck 100 has a character output function for a television screen or the like, the display of the tape information by the display means 107 can be executed in the same manner as the display of normal deck operation information or reservation information. In addition, in FIG.
Reference numeral 08 denotes a tape information management means for preventing overwriting, which will be described later.

As described above, the cassette tape 1
By attaching the responder 110 to 02, the tape information for management relating to the recorded video information can be surely recorded, and it is not necessary to record the recorded content on the label as in the conventional case. Further, compared with the conventional method of storing tape information in the cassette deck 100 main body, there is an advantage that the tape information can be used even when the cassette tape 102 is reproduced by another cassette deck.

Although the responder 110 is attached to the surface of the cassette half by the index label 111 in the first embodiment, it may be embedded in the cassette half itself when the cassette tape 102 is manufactured.

In the first embodiment, the case where the EEPROM 20 is used as the storage means of the responder 110 has been described, but it is also possible to use different types of storage elements such as EPROM and PROM.

Example 2. In the second embodiment, an overwrite prevention function, a tape cueing function to a recordable portion, and a tape information updating function when the information management system of the present invention is applied to a video cassette recorder will be described.

It is assumed that the video information (program) recorded on the cassette tape 102 is in the state shown in the display example of FIG. The tape information is stored in the EEPROM 20 of the responder 110. Here, the stationary machine 120 and the responder 110 are provided on the cassette deck 100 and the cassette tape 102, respectively, in the state shown in FIG. Further, the circuit configuration of the stationary machine 120 and the circuit configuration of the responder 110 are as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, respectively.

The tape information management means 108 shown in FIG. 4 determines whether or not overwriting will occur based on the information in the responder 120. Specifically, the tape information relating to the recorded contents is taken out from the responder 110, and this tape information input through the stationary device 120 is
In consideration of the recording mode as well, it is compared with the remaining tape amount and a necessary warning is issued when overwriting occurs.

For example, in the cassette deck 100, the tape of the cassette tape 102 inserted therein is rewound to the head position, and if it is a 120-minute tape, the remaining tape amount is recognized as 120 minutes. In this state, when the recording reservation in the standard mode is set for 1 hour and 30 minutes from 11:00 to 12:30, the programs 1 and 2 already recorded are overwritten. Therefore, the tape information management means 108 displays a message to that effect on the tape information display means 107 and then issues a warning.

Next, the function of locating the tape to the recordable portion will be described.

Similar to the operation in the overwrite protection function, the tape information management means 108 inputs the tape information relating to the recorded contents via the fixed machine 120 and calculates the head position of the recordable portion. For example, based on the tape information shown in FIG. 5, since the total recording time of three programs is 100 minutes, the recordable time can be calculated as 20 minutes. If the recordable time is 20 minutes, the cueing is completed by performing tape feeding so that the tape remaining amount data from the tape remaining amount measuring means 105 is 20 minutes.

It should be noted that not the reserved recording but the direct recording in which the operation button of the cassette deck 100 is directly operated at the start of the recording, and there is a case where the user wants to record in a hurry, the cue function is appropriately set. It is preferably switched on and off.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart for explaining the updating of tape information corresponding to overwriting. When the cassette tape 102 is inserted into the cassette deck 100 and recording is instructed, the tape information management means 108 first determines whether or not there is an overlap recording portion (ST1). If there is an overlap recording portion, it is determined whether or not the recording data (recording content) is updated next (ST2). This judgment is made by displaying the tape information display means 107 in the form of a question, and the user responding to it by operating a key or the like. When it is determined that the recorded contents are updated, the old recorded data is deleted (ST3), but the tape information in the EEPROM 20 of the responder 110 is also rewritten. Then, the tape information is the tape information display means 1
By being displayed on 07 (ST4), it becomes possible to grasp the information regarding overwriting.

As described above, according to the second embodiment, a warning is issued in advance when recording is set so that there is a risk of over-recording. Therefore, video data to be saved in one cassette tape is erroneously stored. It is possible to accurately record a plurality of programs without deleting them. In addition, it is possible to easily find the part that can be recorded. Further, since the possibility of overwriting is notified based on the tape information from the transponder, the tape information can be updated interactively.

In each of Embodiments 1 and 2 described above, the case where the recording medium is the video cassette tape has been described. However, the same effect can be obtained even if the recording medium is another recording medium such as an audio cassette tape. The transponder 110 does not necessarily have to be attached to the upper surface of the cassette half, and may be integrated with the recording medium. In addition, fixed machine 1
The installation location of 20 is not limited to the vicinity of the tape insertion port, but the transponder 11 of the cassette tape 102
It may be within a range where signals can be exchanged with 0. Therefore, the stationary machine may be of a stationary type such that it is placed on the cassette deck, or may operate independently of the cassette deck. In that case, a liquid crystal display, for example, can be used as the external display means in addition to the television receiver. With such a configuration, it is possible to realize a dedicated device for reading information that enables confirmation of tape information without inserting the tape into the deck. Furthermore, if such a device is used as an interface with a personal computer or the like, it becomes possible to collectively manage tape information by the personal computer.

[0047]

As described above, according to the present invention, a transponder for outputting information on the contents recorded on a recording medium to a fixed machine, and information management of the recording medium by this transponder. An information management system to be implemented can be provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a cassette deck which is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a circuit configuration of a stationary machine of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of a circuit configuration of a transponder of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a flow of tape information inside a cassette deck by the stationary machine of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a display example of tape information read by the stationary machine of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating a tape information management function of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

100 cassette decks, 102 cassette tapes, 1
10 responder, 111 index label, 120 fixed machine.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A transponder that outputs information about the contents recorded on a recording medium to a fixed machine, a storage unit that rewritably holds the information, and the storage unit stores information from the fixed machine. A transponder comprising: a writing unit for writing and an output unit for outputting predetermined information from the storage unit in response to an inquiry signal from the stationary machine. 2. The transponder according to claim 1, further comprising means for adhering to the recording medium. 3. An information management system for executing information management of the recording medium by a transponder for outputting information on contents recorded on the recording medium to a fixed device, wherein the recording medium has the An information management system in which the transponder described in is embedded. 4. The information management system according to claim 3, further comprising a display unit that is connected to the fixed machine and displays information output from the responder. 5. The information management system according to claim 3, further comprising an information processing unit that is connected to the fixed machine and processes information output from the responder.